Hello to everyone here! I seem to have arrived with a bit of a bang, haven't I. I'm sorry about that but, having read some of the obvious trolling that had been going on I felt compelled to speak out.
I'm not sure if this is in the right place, but it seems to be the only place I can put it. My question is fairly simple (I hope). I have a 7.5 tonne van and am looking to bring it over with me to Italy when I finally move here full-time (next
I would agree with Cardi. Unless it is a collectors car, it will be worth more in Italy than it could ever be worth in the UK - especially with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side!
it has all been said already: Get an Italian geometra from the local area who knows both the local situation and the local tradesmen and suppliers. If they are English, be very wary of them unless they are established in the area themselves for several years - check them out with the tecnico at the comune as well as the local bar. Just because something is done in a particular way in the UK doesn't meant that it is either the correct or the only way to do something here in Italy. Likewise, someone's idea of a perfect house will not be the same as anyone elses idea - talk to as many people here as possible and remember that houses here must have seismic protection measures incorporated in them - for your own protection. Good luck. Beery.
Why do 'foreigners' always confuse Berlusconi with the British Conservative party? They are nothing like each other at all. One is a party of criminals, the other is a political party. In other words, as an Italian citizen that will be voting in both the regional elections and, when the time comes, the national elections, I can say; "no way". Beery.
David and Maria, Hello. I assume you have bought your house in "grezzo" state, yes? The roof is not something that would normally require a specialist as the style of roof you describe is very normal here. Any builder will be able to help you - just make sure you get a few quotations for it first. I assume you have all of the documentation for the building as you may have problems later if you do not have it in place. You will need someone to act as your "project manager" - in Italy, this is generally a local geometra or, if your are rich, an architect. Be very wary of people selling themselves to you as independent Project Managers as they must be recognised by the province or they are not allowed to supervise the work legally. Good luck with your plans. Beery.
I'm not sure that using Cuprolex onto a wet earth floor will achieve anything very much, I'm afraid. There isn't really any way around your excavating enough of the earth from the floor of the cantina to give you the space for a 'proper' concrete sub-floor. If you dig out a matrix of deeper 'ditches' into which you can create a concrete foundation, you will be able to reduce the amount of digging somewhat. However, you should check if there are any local by-laws or building codes that are going to be needed to be complied with first. A drainage channel around the walls would be a good idea, with the drains emptying into a deeper 'sump' so that any water collected could then be pumped outside into the house drainage system. If the water ingress proved to be much you might consider installing an automatic pump to help evacuate the water from the sump whilst you tackle the cause of the water leak. Once you have the drainage channel and sump in place, together with the foundations for the floor, you can consider using either a flooring system, such as the Cuprolex Windi sytem, followed with a steel reinforced concrete layer to support whatever floor covering you want to finish with such as tiles, or just pour a concrete floor over D98 steel reinforcing mesh over a decent waterproof membrane to a depth of around 10-12 cm. If your floor is larger than 5mt x 5mt you will have to make sure that expansion joints are in place to stop the whole thing cracking. As far as your walls are concerned, if the problem of water ingress is as bad as you describe, you really need to do something about stopping the cause of the leak. You are correct in that simply rendering up your inside walls will achieve only a faster deterioration of your walls. The only place to put a water barrier in place is outside your house, in between the source of the water and your walls - not a job for the faint-hearted. Rendering (or tanking) the inside of the walls will only result in the stone or bricks - or even concrete for that matter - splitting open and disintegrating in a very expensive way as the moisture levels build up and the trapped salts expand. Good luck with it and if you are not completely confident in your abilities to deal with the problem without actually making it worse, get a builder (or three) in to check out the job and give you a qute. A chat with a local geometra would be a good idea as well, if it is as serious a problem as you describe. Beery.
Perhaps the best idea would be for you to use concrete pavers to cover the damaged concrete? They are pretty common in Italy and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You don't cement them down - you lay them on a solid base, just using a little sand to level them. They are very hard-wearing and if you get any further land movement they don't crack - perhaps a good idea there? Anyway, a Google search on your area with "pavimentazioni" as the search key should come up with a few options - this website will help to give you a few ideas to start with. Beery.
Indeed, Valentina. I might be inclined to use his own word when desribing anyone not voting for himself; vergogna, that is. But this is getting a bit close to the bone now, eh? I would hate to be thought of as being as rude as the dottore! ;) Do you have any other words for him? (printable ones, that is :D )
Hi indeed! Pleased to hear from you. "My partner and I have decided to replace the laminate flooring in the conservatory with tiles...my partner knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, if you get my drift, who has offered us something he called 'Italian Tarasso' (?). He has been shown a sample and describes them as 8 to 10 inches square & a ½ inch thick and he was told are marble chips set in some sort of cement and then polished. Sorry to have rambled on but, would you have any idea if this type of tile might be suitable for our conservatory. I just wonder if given the weather over here (UK) the polish would wear well in a heavy traffic area which is frequently quite wet, or even if they are likely to be Italian at all?" I am going to work on the asumption that you "tarasso" is actually "terazzo" - a composite material either laid in a liquid form and then ground and polished in situ, or as prepared tiles, ready for laying. They are not used often these days - although there are huge numbers of houses in Italy that still have composite floors laid. They are very hard-wearing, so will last a long, long time before they start to show any signs of wear. Laying is fairly straight forward, using a cement based adhesive, preferably a flexible one. If your substrate is concrete you will have no problem but if it is timber, you are going to have quite a job preparing the floor. Bear in mind that they are usuall quite a bit heavier than any of the modern types of tiles and plan (or get planned) the substrate before buying them. Is this what they look like (-ish)? Beery.
Well, I asked for it, didn't I :) "Sorry back on topicish, beery what would you say would be a simple/cheap and attractive way of covering a concrete terrace that has cracks," There isn't really a simple answer to this as it all depends on the state of the terrace itself. Assuming that you are talking of a fairly normal sort of Italian terrace - concrete base with either stone or tile covering - you need to get the base checked out first. Are you in an earthquake area? How is the water table there? Any tree roots under it? Etc. Because you need to sort the basics out first. I could just say; "tile it", but that would potentially cause even more problems for you. If you can answer my list above, I will ask the next lot of questions, OK? :) Beery.
Comments posted
I would agree with Cardi. Unless it is a collectors car, it will be worth more in Italy than it could ever be worth in the UK - especially with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side!
it has all been said already: Get an Italian geometra from the local area who knows both the local situation and the local tradesmen and suppliers. If they are English, be very wary of them unless they are established in the area themselves for several years - check them out with the tecnico at the comune as well as the local bar. Just because something is done in a particular way in the UK doesn't meant that it is either the correct or the only way to do something here in Italy. Likewise, someone's idea of a perfect house will not be the same as anyone elses idea - talk to as many people here as possible and remember that houses here must have seismic protection measures incorporated in them - for your own protection. Good luck. Beery.
Why do 'foreigners' always confuse Berlusconi with the British Conservative party? They are nothing like each other at all. One is a party of criminals, the other is a political party. In other words, as an Italian citizen that will be voting in both the regional elections and, when the time comes, the national elections, I can say; "no way". Beery.
David and Maria, Hello. I assume you have bought your house in "grezzo" state, yes? The roof is not something that would normally require a specialist as the style of roof you describe is very normal here. Any builder will be able to help you - just make sure you get a few quotations for it first. I assume you have all of the documentation for the building as you may have problems later if you do not have it in place. You will need someone to act as your "project manager" - in Italy, this is generally a local geometra or, if your are rich, an architect. Be very wary of people selling themselves to you as independent Project Managers as they must be recognised by the province or they are not allowed to supervise the work legally. Good luck with your plans. Beery.
I'm not sure that using Cuprolex onto a wet earth floor will achieve anything very much, I'm afraid. There isn't really any way around your excavating enough of the earth from the floor of the cantina to give you the space for a 'proper' concrete sub-floor. If you dig out a matrix of deeper 'ditches' into which you can create a concrete foundation, you will be able to reduce the amount of digging somewhat. However, you should check if there are any local by-laws or building codes that are going to be needed to be complied with first. A drainage channel around the walls would be a good idea, with the drains emptying into a deeper 'sump' so that any water collected could then be pumped outside into the house drainage system. If the water ingress proved to be much you might consider installing an automatic pump to help evacuate the water from the sump whilst you tackle the cause of the water leak. Once you have the drainage channel and sump in place, together with the foundations for the floor, you can consider using either a flooring system, such as the Cuprolex Windi sytem, followed with a steel reinforced concrete layer to support whatever floor covering you want to finish with such as tiles, or just pour a concrete floor over D98 steel reinforcing mesh over a decent waterproof membrane to a depth of around 10-12 cm. If your floor is larger than 5mt x 5mt you will have to make sure that expansion joints are in place to stop the whole thing cracking. As far as your walls are concerned, if the problem of water ingress is as bad as you describe, you really need to do something about stopping the cause of the leak. You are correct in that simply rendering up your inside walls will achieve only a faster deterioration of your walls. The only place to put a water barrier in place is outside your house, in between the source of the water and your walls - not a job for the faint-hearted. Rendering (or tanking) the inside of the walls will only result in the stone or bricks - or even concrete for that matter - splitting open and disintegrating in a very expensive way as the moisture levels build up and the trapped salts expand. Good luck with it and if you are not completely confident in your abilities to deal with the problem without actually making it worse, get a builder (or three) in to check out the job and give you a qute. A chat with a local geometra would be a good idea as well, if it is as serious a problem as you describe. Beery.
I think, Pilchard, that you will find the translation is more correctly "cheep-cheep" - very much as the Italian in fact. However, if you are thinking of next years San Remo Festival, maybe these will help... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFfzga-X2x4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeswZaReE0I ;) Beery.
Perhaps the best idea would be for you to use concrete pavers to cover the damaged concrete? They are pretty common in Italy and come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You don't cement them down - you lay them on a solid base, just using a little sand to level them. They are very hard-wearing and if you get any further land movement they don't crack - perhaps a good idea there? Anyway, a Google search on your area with "pavimentazioni" as the search key should come up with a few options - this website will help to give you a few ideas to start with. Beery.
Indeed, Valentina. I might be inclined to use his own word when desribing anyone not voting for himself; vergogna, that is. But this is getting a bit close to the bone now, eh? I would hate to be thought of as being as rude as the dottore! ;) Do you have any other words for him? (printable ones, that is :D )
Hi indeed! Pleased to hear from you. "My partner and I have decided to replace the laminate flooring in the conservatory with tiles...my partner knows someone, who knows someone, who knows someone, if you get my drift, who has offered us something he called 'Italian Tarasso' (?). He has been shown a sample and describes them as 8 to 10 inches square & a ½ inch thick and he was told are marble chips set in some sort of cement and then polished. Sorry to have rambled on but, would you have any idea if this type of tile might be suitable for our conservatory. I just wonder if given the weather over here (UK) the polish would wear well in a heavy traffic area which is frequently quite wet, or even if they are likely to be Italian at all?" I am going to work on the asumption that you "tarasso" is actually "terazzo" - a composite material either laid in a liquid form and then ground and polished in situ, or as prepared tiles, ready for laying. They are not used often these days - although there are huge numbers of houses in Italy that still have composite floors laid. They are very hard-wearing, so will last a long, long time before they start to show any signs of wear. Laying is fairly straight forward, using a cement based adhesive, preferably a flexible one. If your substrate is concrete you will have no problem but if it is timber, you are going to have quite a job preparing the floor. Bear in mind that they are usuall quite a bit heavier than any of the modern types of tiles and plan (or get planned) the substrate before buying them. Is this what they look like (-ish)?
Beery.
Well, I asked for it, didn't I :) "Sorry back on topicish, beery what would you say would be a simple/cheap and attractive way of covering a concrete terrace that has cracks," There isn't really a simple answer to this as it all depends on the state of the terrace itself. Assuming that you are talking of a fairly normal sort of Italian terrace - concrete base with either stone or tile covering - you need to get the base checked out first. Are you in an earthquake area? How is the water table there? Any tree roots under it? Etc. Because you need to sort the basics out first. I could just say; "tile it", but that would potentially cause even more problems for you. If you can answer my list above, I will ask the next lot of questions, OK? :) Beery.